Man Arrested for Video Recording Inside Government Building

After hanging up a makeshift sign banning videography of a public auction inside a Massachusetts town hall last year, then arresting a man who dared go against their wishes, Palmer town officials were forced to dish out a $5,000 settlement to the man last week.

Ian Bernard, better known as Ian Freeman of the Free State Project, said he received over $3,000 of that settlement with the rest going to the ACLU of Massachusetts, who helped secure it.

The settlement once again proves that government officials don’t have the right to make up laws as they go, especially when it comes to public meetings or events.

In this case, Palmer town officials organized an auction and advertised it as being open to the public.

But on the day of the auction, they restricted anybody but qualified buyers from entering. They even banned the local media from entering, who did its diligence by remaining outside, even though this was a government-sponsored event.

But Freeman wasn’t about to bow down to makeshift signs or laws as you can see in the above video, which is what got him arrested.